


gravity and tire swings

by usingmyoxygen (keithsforeheadtattoo)



Category: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - Shienken/Finn
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-18
Updated: 2010-07-18
Packaged: 2017-10-14 19:17:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/152563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keithsforeheadtattoo/pseuds/usingmyoxygen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>chip is twelve when he kisses marigold coneybear for the first and last time, and a fresh seventeen the first time he kisses her brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	gravity and tire swings

chip's already reached the ancient age of twelve when he finally gets his first kiss. after all he went through for her sake, however accidental, it does seem only fair that it should be marigold coneybear.

of all the stereotypically greenpeacey sort of places in the world, it's a field that she takes him to, an actual, legitimate flowering field that looks more like the backdrop of a travel agency advertisement than anything tangible.

"marigold," he says, eyeing a patch of goldish flowers, and then laughs a short, barking laugh in vague imitation of his father. "how ironic."

it isn't ironic in the least, not to mention that the flowers aren't marigolds, but the fact that he is twelve and she is eleven and he's putting on a real sophisticated voice is convincing enough.

"you're funny," she says. "i like you."

and just like that, she's suddenly all over him, kissing with lips and tongue and everything that he's heard from his brother is supposed to be really great. he doesn't know if he likes it or know what he's doing but pretends with vigor to do both.

chip is twelve when he kisses marigold coneybear for the first and last time, and a fresh seventeen the first time he kisses her brother.

\- - - - - - -

leaf comes and goes, leaving for weeks at a time and then showing up at chip's front door with impeccable timing - which is to say, whenever he feels like it, regardless of whether or not he's dripping with rain and whether or not mrs. tolentino is having another one of her pretentious "pampered chef" parties that she can't really afford and squeaking with displeasure as he tracks bare, muddy footprints all across her white carpet.

chip likes the interruptions more than he ever admits. there's something about the other boy that feels so real, so natural that it's just fucking perfect when moments like that occur, the actual world breaking through his mother's polished glass figurine of a life.

chip's never said anything directly about him to his mother, but there's always an extra, deepened level of horror in her reaction whenever leaf shows up when company is over that even the dirtiest carpets couldn't incite. he's pretty positive she knows but neither of them wants to talk about it and so it's left well enough alone.

\- - - - - - -

they can only ever have sex at leaf's house because nobody there would so much as bat an eye if they walked in, with the exception of leaf's dad, but whenever he's around leaf tries not to be around so it's never much of an issue.

it's only after they've continued this off-and-on stretch of fleeting encounters for about four months that chip starts to notice the bruises. many of them, leaf explains, are from his dad. others, he won't talk about at all.

it scares chip in a way he doesn't feel often. the only thing he can relate it to is the time when he was six or seven and had watched as his baby sister had fallen off the tire swing in their backyard and split her arm open to the bone. helpless. he felt very helpless but also protective and angry, like there should be something he could do to stop it except he was just a kid and gravity and tire swings and drunken fathers were all powerful forces of nature.

he'd asked once where it was leaf went when he'd leave. leaf just shrugged and said, "wherever there's people. people and music. and money."

it was vague enough to be off-putting in the phrasing alone, but it was the last two words that bugged chip the most. he didn't push the topic further though, just bit back the cutesy little "where'd you learn to do that" post-sex sort of comments from then on, too afraid he might receive an honest answer.

\- - - - - - -

chip has somehow made it to the age of eighteen when he decides to leave putnam county. it's for college, he tells everyone, but he doesn't really know what it's for except that he never wants to go back if he doesn't have to. college is only a secondary bonus.

he and leaf have never been anything serious, but he happens to know it's their one-year anniversary of whatever it is they've been doing for a year and so the day before he leaves, he calls leaf's house and leaves a message on their ancient machine telling him to come to the river. walking there, chip pictures the coneybear clan all huddled around the chunky black speaker, screening. giggling. "leaf, your boyfriend called!" one of the younger ones would holler up the stairs and they'd all crack up laughing.

by the time chip gets there, leaf is already waiting for him with one arm behind his back. as soon as chip's within range, leaf runs at him and bombards him with the most enthusiastic hug he's ever recieved, arms around his neck and legs around his waist in a full-on clinging position for a total of three seconds before they both topple over and are rolling around on the riverbank and laughing like little boys.

leaf kisses him hard before proudly displaying what his one hidden arm had been disguising behind his back: some sort of awful, tangly, brownish black mass.

"what...?" chip starts to ask, but is still trying to process the visual. and the smell.

leaf grins and explains himself -- "it's a bouquet. of seaweed. i was at the beach last night and i made it for you because there won't be any beaches in connecticut."

"there are definitely beaches in connecticut," chip says, and laughs a little, but more than anything he's just surprised leaf knows where he's going. he doesn't recall ever mentioning it to anybody outside of family.

"well, not any good ones!" leaf insists, tucking the crazy seaweed bundle into the belt-loop of chip's jeans. it's all crumbly and kind of horrifying.

"i'll hang it up in my dorm." chip says.

leaf just flashes him a knowing smile and kisses his cheek before bringing himself to his knees, brushing his clothes free of dirt and sand.

"no you won't," he says.

"i won't," chip admits, but by the time he's walking in the door of his dorm room he's already picked out the perfect place to keep it.


End file.
